A Solitary Plan – Tracklisting
Creature Of The Deep.
It's Alright.
From The Ashes
The Drone.
Goodbye.
The Bitter End.
Review
A Solitary Plan is the debut full length album from Monolord frontman Thomas W Jäger and I was quite surprised when this album was originally announced. As I thought Thomas would be too busy conquering the world of Doom Metal with the critically acclaimed band and after their recent album that was released via Relapse Records
This album sees Thomas take a step back in more ways than one. The music is a semi-acoustic style of Folk, Doom Rock, Psych and Stoner Rock grooves and RidingEasy Records are releasing this album who previously Monolord were signed to.
The first thing that grabs you with A Solitary Plan is how emotionally stirring and involving the album can be despite the different style of music that Thomas plays on this album. This is quite a riffier solo offering compared to other solo albums I’ve listened to from WINO and Steve Von Till.
The opening song - A Solitary Plan - has the gloominess that Monolord are known for but this album is definitely it’s own thing with Thomas putting a more sincere and heartfelt vocal performance. The semi-acoustic nature of the album is quite easy to fall in love with and the lyrics whilst emotionally charged are never boring and remain quite grown-up from start to finish. The music easily drifts along from musical hypnotic passage to the next with the gloomy folk vibes holding everything together.
Second song - Creature Of The Deep - opens with a secluded guitar before Thomas appears with his Doom/Folk based vocals leading the way. The Psychedelic nature of the song is quite claustrophobic but it has an eerie dreamlike quality to it all that harks back to the day of 70s Rock. The second half of the song sees a slight Electronica style of music coming into play which adds a more nuanced feel to the song.
Third song - It’s Alright - is easily my favourite song on the album with perhaps the most “Monolord” style song on the album whilst still retaining the semi-acoustic drive of the entire album and the beautifully written lyrics allow Thomas to deliver his best vocal performance on this album. The quietly played guitars are passionate and have real genuine warmth to them.
These 3 songs should give the listener a good picture on what to expect for the rest of the album. Thomas has 4 more songs left to impress folks with and he does with songs such as: From The Ashes, The Drone and The Bitter End. The album allows Thomas to continue his musical journey branching out into different styles of music you wouldn’t expect him to do especially on From The Ashes and The Bitter End.
The whole sound of the album is another highlight with A Solitary Plan sounding crisp and super-fresh in all of the right places. This album will surprise you with some of its heavy moments despite not primarily being a Heavy Rock album.
A Solitary Plan is a masterful album packed with great music and Thomas in fine storytelling form. You don’t have to be a fan of Monolord to enjoy this album. Take this album on it’s own merits and you will be rewarded with a beautifully charged and emotional album.
This album sees Thomas take a step back in more ways than one. The music is a semi-acoustic style of Folk, Doom Rock, Psych and Stoner Rock grooves and RidingEasy Records are releasing this album who previously Monolord were signed to.
The first thing that grabs you with A Solitary Plan is how emotionally stirring and involving the album can be despite the different style of music that Thomas plays on this album. This is quite a riffier solo offering compared to other solo albums I’ve listened to from WINO and Steve Von Till.
The opening song - A Solitary Plan - has the gloominess that Monolord are known for but this album is definitely it’s own thing with Thomas putting a more sincere and heartfelt vocal performance. The semi-acoustic nature of the album is quite easy to fall in love with and the lyrics whilst emotionally charged are never boring and remain quite grown-up from start to finish. The music easily drifts along from musical hypnotic passage to the next with the gloomy folk vibes holding everything together.
Second song - Creature Of The Deep - opens with a secluded guitar before Thomas appears with his Doom/Folk based vocals leading the way. The Psychedelic nature of the song is quite claustrophobic but it has an eerie dreamlike quality to it all that harks back to the day of 70s Rock. The second half of the song sees a slight Electronica style of music coming into play which adds a more nuanced feel to the song.
Third song - It’s Alright - is easily my favourite song on the album with perhaps the most “Monolord” style song on the album whilst still retaining the semi-acoustic drive of the entire album and the beautifully written lyrics allow Thomas to deliver his best vocal performance on this album. The quietly played guitars are passionate and have real genuine warmth to them.
These 3 songs should give the listener a good picture on what to expect for the rest of the album. Thomas has 4 more songs left to impress folks with and he does with songs such as: From The Ashes, The Drone and The Bitter End. The album allows Thomas to continue his musical journey branching out into different styles of music you wouldn’t expect him to do especially on From The Ashes and The Bitter End.
The whole sound of the album is another highlight with A Solitary Plan sounding crisp and super-fresh in all of the right places. This album will surprise you with some of its heavy moments despite not primarily being a Heavy Rock album.
A Solitary Plan is a masterful album packed with great music and Thomas in fine storytelling form. You don’t have to be a fan of Monolord to enjoy this album. Take this album on it’s own merits and you will be rewarded with a beautifully charged and emotional album.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Andy at Palmer Turner Overdrive and Dave at US/THEM PR Group for the promo.
You can now buy A Solitary Plan on CD/DD/VInyl via RidingEasy Records now.
You can now buy A Solitary Plan on CD/DD/VInyl via RidingEasy Records now.
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